


Broken Little Birdie

by Moonshoes_Potter



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluffy Destiel, M/M, Prompt Fill, Protective Dean, make up sabriel, post breakup sabriel, sam ships it but he’s lowkey about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 00:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13447053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonshoes_Potter/pseuds/Moonshoes_Potter
Summary: Based on the following prompt:“Maybe do a fic where Can hurt his wings and needs Dean to fix it?” -AnonymousThe story took me to a bit of Sabriel, so i’ll do that in the next chapter, but for now, here’s your order. Enjoy your meal.





	1. Chapter 1

“So get this--”

“If I had a nickel for every time you said that,” Dean sighed, but turned his attention to Sam nonetheless.

Sam exhaled through his nose loudly. “So get this,” He repeated. “There’s this news story. Some woman goes missing. Just before she left, her wife said--”

“Her wife?” Dean raised an eyebrow, earning a glare from Sam.

“People are gay, Dean. Now would you let me continue please?” Dean tried not to smile and rolled his eyes instead. “Her wife said this woman had been hearing voices and ignoring everyday obligations, saying they ‘weren’t important anymore’. A few hours later, her wife reported her missing. Then three people with no relation turned up dead with their eyes burned out.”

“Sounds like she was an angel vessel. Should we call Cas?”

Sam shrugged. “He said he was pretty busy with the whole civil war in heaven. We probably shouldn’t.”

Dean laced his fingers and tapped his thumbs together. Now what? He couldn’t exactly pray to Cas saying _Hey I know you’re in the middle of a war but I really want to see you so here’s some lame excuse for a difficult case._

The internal conflict must have been visible on Dean’s face, because Sam scratched his neck and said, “I mean, we could, if you think so. He could always ignore us if he needs to.” That didn’t exactly reassure him, but Dean tried to focus on the positive: he’d probably be seeing Cas. 

“Cool.” He stood up and took a few steps away from the table. “Cas, we got a case. We think it’s an angel. Three dead, one missing. We’re in a small motel in Sedona, Arizona. We could use your...” Dean was interrupted by the flutter of wings. “...help,” he finished.

Cas looked tired. His trenchcoat was covered in dried blood and his face was slack. Dean felt torn between his joy for Cas’s presence and the worry for his appearance. 

“Hello, Dean,” Cas grumbled, like usual. Dean relaxed. He hadn’t changed.

“Heya, Cas.”

Sam cleared his throat. “So… Do you think it’s angels?”

“Yes,” Cas tore his eyes from Dean and went to look at the laptop Sam had open. “It does sound like some angels took vessels to battle. I think I could sense them on my way here.”

Dean and Sam shared a look. “...Where?” Sam asked.

“An old warehouse on the outskirts of town.”  
Dean threw up his hands. “Well, let’s go see what’s going on!”

Cas glared at him. “This is none of your concern. It’s a heavenly war. I’ll deal with it.”

“Alone?” Dean said incredulously, “C’mon, Cas. We can back you up.”

Cas sighed. “I don’t want you two getting involved. You’ll make half the angels your enemies.”

“Cas,” Dean put his hand on Cas’s shoulder. “We’re not gonna let you go in there by yourself.”

They locked eyes in a silent argument. Cas huffed and nodded. “Very well.”

Sam stood up and clapped his hands together. “Cool. I’ll get our stuff ready. We leave in five.”

Dean went over to his bag. He pulled out the angel blades and holy oil, as well as a couple lighters. Soon, they were off. 

They pulled up to the warehouse on a dirt road. There was no sign of anyone there, but Dean suspected that Cas could sense grace. He looked back at the Winchesters and motioned to the door.

The building had no interior walls, just poles and old rotting pallets. Two figures were silhouetted against light coming from a hole in the roof. Cas stepped forward. Judging by his facial expression, these were not friendly angels. Sam and Dean held up their blades, then the three of them charged. 

Dean and Cas went for the angel on the right. Sam was immediately thrown to the side by the other, landing behind a pile of wood. 

The enemy angels seemed disinterested in Dean. They tried to grab Cas, but he slashed their arms with his angel blade. Dean stabbed one in the back while their attention was on Cas. Their eyes lit up, then they crumbled to the ground. 

Cas was still fighting the first angel. Neither could land a hit until Dean entered the fray. He stabbed the enemy in the stomach. It wasn’t fatal, so they had time to open their shirt and reveal a complicated burn mark on their chest, almost like the banishing symbol. 

Dean didn’t know what it meant, but suddenly the angel stabbed themselves in the center of the mark. He could barely react because Cas had shouted “Dean!” and stepped between him and the angel, who was glowing brighter by the second. 

The angel exploded. Blinding light filled the warehouse, but Dean was shielded by… feathers? Cas had wrapped Dean in his wings. Dean had never actually seen them, only their shadow from flashes of lightning in the barn when he had met  
Cas. 

The light faded and Cas collapsed on top of Dean, who struggled to hold him up. It was extra difficult because Cas’s giant wings now fell to either side of him. They were battered and bloody, but at least Cas was still breathing. 

“Sam!” Dean called out in a panicked voice. How the hell was he supposed to fix broken wings? Maybe angel doctors existed in heaven, but Cas was the only one who knew them, and he was down for the count. 

“Yeah?” Sam stumbled out from behind the wood planks. “Sorry, that angel knocked me out.” He saw Cas. “Holy shit, what happened?”

“One angel had this weird symbol burned into their skin,” Dean explained breathlessly after Sam had rushed over. “They stabbed themselves and exploded. Cas’s wings appeared and wrapped around me like a cocoon. I’m totally fine, but now he’s unconscious.”

“We’ve gotta get him to the motel,” Sam tried to keep a neutral expression for Dean’s sake. “To patch him up.”

“Okay,” Dean said weakly. 

Sam helped Dean haul Cas into the car. They folded up his wings as best as they could and Dean sat with him to make sure he stayed safe in the backseat, as they couldn’t really put the belt on. Sam drove in silence. 

Fortunately for the Winchesters, it was nighttime, so there wasn’t anyone around to see two men carrying a knocked out third with massive white wings into a motel. Once inside, they pushed the two beds together and laid Cas in the middle, spreading his wings out on either side. The human part of Cas looked okay aside from being unconscious, but his wings…

“I don’t know much about bird wings,” Sam stroked his chin in thought. “But they’re definitely broken in several places. Do we have any vet friends who know how to fix broken wings?”

“I doubt it. Besides, angel wings are probably different from birds. We could call an angel to help…” It wasn’t the best idea, but Dean didn’t know what else to do.

“Gabriel?” Sam suggested.

Dean looked up in confusion. “Why do you think he’d help?”

“Well, he said he cares about his family. Cas is his brother, so he might be willing to.” Sam didn’t look him in the eye. 

Dean nodded, frowning in agreement. “He’s got the mojo.” He stood. “I’ll go call him.”

Sam inhaled but had to search for the right words before saying, “Maybe I should.”

Dean furrowed his brow. “...Why?”

“I mean,” Sam cleared his throat. “He doesn’t like you very much. I’ll do it.”

Dean still thought it was a bit strange, but he complied. 

“Gabriel. It’s me. I know you’re probably not in the mood to talk to me right now, but we need your help. We got into a fight with a couple angels and one exploded. Now Cas’s wings are all broken and we don’t know how to fix them. Could you please come to Sedona, Arizona?”

“All you had to do was ask, Samsquatch,” said a voice behind the Winchesters. They turned around, expressions somewhere between relief and surprise. There was Gabriel, leaning casually against the wall. He wore a small smirk, but the sad way he was looking at Sam gave him away. Then his eyes fell on Cas and his expression turned to open worry. “Oh, Cassie…”

“Can you help him?” Dean pleaded.

“Relax, Dean-o. I can do it… for a price.” He shot Sam a pointed look.

“Like what?” Dean asked hurriedly. Every second they wasted Cas was probably getting worse.

Sam crossed his arms at Gabriel. “Later. Just do this first.”

Ignoring Dean’s noise of disbelief, Gabriel sighed and strode over to the beds. He ran his hands over the top edge of Cas’s wings. A gold glow spread across the feathers from his touch. Sam had to look away when the wings shifted back into place with several sickening cracks. Dean, however, moved closer to Cas, who seemed to be twitching and slowly becoming conscious. He started to move more, like he was having a bad dream.

“Hold him still!” Gabriel commanded, his hands busy.

Dean made a split-second decision and grabbed Cas’s hand. He stroked it with his thumb, trying to calm Cas down. He hoped Sam wasn’t looking at them. 

“It’s alright, Cas,” Dean whispered. Cas calmed down slightly. “It’s okay, I’m here. You’re gonna be fine.”

Gabriel finished his work and Castiel’s eyes fluttered open. Dean was so relieved he was awake that he didn’t notice Gabe pull Sam outside.

“What happened?” Cas asked groggily. He sat up and looked from his wings to Dean’s hand clasped in his own, then into Dean’s eyes. Dean smiled apologetically and averted his gaze, retracting his hand. 

Cas looked self-consciously down at his wings. Now that they weren’t covered in heavenly blood, Dean could see that each feather was white at the base, but faded to a black tip. As he gazed at them with interest, the wings started to fade. 

“What are you doing?” Dean looked back up at Cas. 

“I’m concealing them again,” Cas stated, as though it were obvious. When Dean continued to look puzzled, he explained bashfully, “Usually, they’re… uh, seen as very intimate. An angel’s wings.”

“Oh,” Dean didn’t exactly see what the big deal was, but he could still feel a blush creeping up his neck.

“Sorry you had to see me like that.” Cas’s wings were now only half-visible, kind of like a hologram. They folded behind Cas involuntarily, as if trying to be as small as possible. 

“Hey, I mean,” Dean attempted a grin. “You saved my life, man. Ya don’t need to apologize.”

The Castiel who landed on earth years ago after pulling Dean out of hell wouldn’t have known how to respond to that. But Cas knew that was the hunter’s own way of saying thanks. So he returned with a small smile and put his hand on Dean’s, which was resting on the edge of the bed next to his knee. Dean tensed, but didn’t pull his hand away. He wasn’t quite sure why. 

“Thank you for calling Gabriel,” Cas said after a moment of contentedly gazing at Dean. 

Dean looked away. He would profusely deny it if you told him later, but he did turn a little pink. “Eh, it was Sam’s idea.”

“But you hate him. Why didn’t you try calling someone else?”

“I just…” Dean bit his lip and met Cas’s eyes. “Nothing was more important than making sure you were okay.”

Yet another one of Dean’s ways of saying so few words that meant so much. One that Castiel never would have dreamed of being able to interpret before coming to Earth. Now, he knew exactly what to do. He leaned forward and met Dean’s lips with his own. 

Dean was hesitant, but he finally let himself enjoy what he had been denying for so long. He finally found exactly what it was: happiness. Cas made him happy. He was happier with the angel than with anyone else, even Sam. And now, kissing Cas at last, Dean was the happiest he’d ever been.

Dean was used to late-night hookups, their kisses filled with lust and absolutely nothing else. But this was different. This was rare. This, he realized, was love. 

Cas pulled away. Dean would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little disappointed, but this was so new to him. He was all for going slow. 

They smiled at each other for a moment. Then they heard muffled voices outside and remembered Sam and Gabriel existed. They shared an exasperated look. Why couldn’t they just stay there forever?

Nevertheless, Dean and Cas got up from the bed. They clasped hands and walked toward the door. Dean didn’t know it, but one of Cas’s now invisible wings was wrapped around him, like always.


	2. Sabriel Extension

Gabe made his way over to Sam at the little table in the corner of the room. Despite himself, Sam’s heart twisted a little when Gabe stumbled slightly. Things were just calming down. Cas was awake and Dean was relieved. Sam knew what was coming next.

“What do you want in payment?” He asked in an undertone. 

“A chance to talk.” Sam could tell Gabe was looking up at him but he couldn’t meet his eyes.   
Sam sighed. “Alright.”

“Not here,” Gabe grabbed Sam’s arm and tugged him toward the door. “They’re having a moment.” Sam caught a glimpse of Cas’s hand on top of Dean’s before closing it. 

“I know what you’re going to say,” Sam crossed his arms and looked at his feet. “But like I told you before—”

Gabe cut him off. “You told me you loved me.” Sam glanced up. Gabe was trembling with emotion. His beautiful gold eyes glinted in the moonlight. “You loved me, yet you still left. You still wouldn’t listen to me. Now you’re calling me for a favor just like nothing ever happened. Like you never loved me.”

“I still do,” Sam blurted out. His throat caught, but he continued, “I didn’t call you just for a favor. I knew that with… all this going on, you wouldn’t want to lose your brother. And I couldn’t lose mine,” He added, turning to see through the window. Dean and Cas were kissing. He wasn’t surprised — it was about goddamn time — but he couldn’t bring himself to smile. Sam looked back at his shoes. 

“I left because I was afraid,” Sam admitted. He knew it would sound stupid, but Gabe deserved the truth. “Afraid of what Dean would think. Afraid of what danger it would put you in. People I love always die. I wanted to protect you. Not that you really need it.” Sam felt his ears heat up.

“You Winchesters and your damn protecting.” Gabe had on that sad smirk that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m an archangel, remember?” 

“Exactly. I thought… I figured it was better to stay apart if it meant your safety. No matter how much I wanted to see you, I wanted you safe more. I didn’t know if…” Sam couldn’t articulate his thought. Not for lack of trying; he’d been thinking about it for months. The words just didn’t want to be spoken. 

“You didn’t know that I love you back,” Gabe reached for Sam’s hand and held it reassuringly.

“You’re an immortal archangel who can create anything. What could I possibly have that you couldn’t get yourself?”

“Some things can’t be made with a snap of my fingers.” Gabe squeezed Sam’s hand, as if the insecurities would just seep out like with a sponge and everything would be okay. “Never underestimate yourself, Sam Winchester. You mean so much more than you think.”

“To the world?” Sam still didn’t meet Gabe’s eyes. “To heaven?”

“To me,” was all Gabe said before standing on his tiptoes and planting a kiss on Sam’s cheek. He stood back with a good distance between them.

_If Sam doesn’t want to_ , Gabe thought, _at least I’ve said everything that needed saying._

Sam, however, had something different in mind. He finally turned his gaze from their clasped hands to Gabe’s eyes, before leaning down and kissing him. 

They both had tears on their faces as they kissed desperately. After a few seconds they pulled away to hug. Sam buried his face in Gabe’s shoulder (though he had to bend a bit), simply enjoying his touch, one he had missed for so long.

They were sadly interrupted by Dean and Cas coming out of the room. Sam almost jerked away from Gabe, but then he saw that they were holding hands just like Sam was holding Gabe’s. The Winchesters shared with each other a look of surprise yet also understanding.

“Um,” Dean broke the silence at last. “I-we… Cas will be staying for a while. With us. With me.” He tried to compose himself. It was difficult considering his slightly ruffled appearance and red face. 

“Gabe too.” Sam said simply. Gabe’s and Cas’s eye rolls were identical. The Winchesters had a way with words. 

“When?” Sam asked, continuing to say as little as possible to avoid awkward rambling. 

“Just now…” Dean furrowed his brow and looked from Gabe to Sam. “What about you?”

Sam inhaled and bit his lip, then said, “Five months.”

Gabe clapped his hands together and spoke over Dean’s noise of disbelief, “Well, isn’t this conversation just heartwarming? I dunno about you, but I’d rather not stick around for when the buddies of those angels you killed show up. Whaddya say we all hop on the Impala and drive to your little bunker? I’d like to finally see this place.” Sam grinned slyly. Gabe had been there plenty of times when Dean wasn’t around. Though admittedly, he’d been a bit preoccupied during his visits. 

Dean cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. Sure. I’ll drive.” Cas, of course, sat next to him in the passenger’s seat. 

Walking to the car, Gabe’s hand clasped in his own, Sam realized he hadn’t known just how much he’d missed Gabriel until he’d gotten him back. For good this time, Sam decided.


End file.
